[I] Mr. Chorley probably means "second-rate" as compared with the few
very great names, which can be easily counted on the fingers.
[J] Admirers of the author of "Don Pasquale" and "Lucia" may be
interested in knowing that Donizetti was of Scotch descent. His
grandfather was a native of Perthshire, named Izett. The young Scot
was beguiled by the fascinating tongue of a recruiting-sergeant into
his Britannic majesty's service, and was taken prisoner by General La
Hoche during the latter's invasion of Ireland. Already tired of a
private's life, he accepted the situation, and was induced to become
the French general's private secretary. Subsequently he drifted to
Italy, and married an Italian lady of some rank, denationalising his
own name into Donizetti. The Scottish predilections of our composer
show themselves in the music of "Don Pasquale," noticeably in "Com' e
gentil;" and the score of "Lucia" is strongly flavoured by Scottish
sympathy and minstrelsy.
[K] Victor Hugo did the same thing with Verdi's "Ernani," and other
French authors followed with legal actions. The matter was finally
arranged on condition of an indemnity being paid to the original
French dramatists. The principle involved had been established nearly
two centuries before. In a privilege granted to St. Amant in 1653 for
the publication of his "Moïse Sauvé," it was forbidden to extract from
that epic materials for a play or poem. The descendants of
Beaumarchais fought for the same concession, and not very long ago it
was decided that the translators and arrangers of "Le Nozze di Figaro"
for the Théâtre Lyrique must share their receipts with the living
representatives of the author of "Le Mariage de Figaro."